"Eh. Nothing special."

Once upon a time, I strolled into my local EB Games and saw a copy of The Sims I could play on my Gamecube. I bought it and the clerk told me how addictive it was. I wondered if he was right as I strolled out of the store. I was delighted when I started playing it, but after the 3rd straight hour of it I began to realize how repetitive it was. I still loved it, though. I hoped the eventual sequel would fix the gripes I had with the original. Later that year, The Sims 2 was announced for the PC. I held off from buying so that I could buy the Gamecube version I knew would eventually hit store shelves. It did eventually come and, lo and behold, a few months later a new copy was lying open on my floor, manual out and disk spinning. Boy, was I disappointed.

Control: They made a change to this. Now, they use something called direct control. This means you can use the control stick to steer your Sim around the current lot and choose what you want them to do. This was actually a good change I hadn't expected. However, if you want to, the developers made it so you can switch to classic control. Classic control is basically the same control scheme used in previous games.

Graphics: Slight upgrade over the original. Nothing fancy, just a few new effects and some slight touch-ups.

Customization: This was one of this game's high points. There are many more fashions than the first game had, but alas, about half of them must be unlocked through story mode. Some of them don't seem worth it, but then there are some really cool-looking fashions you desperately want but haven't unlocked yet. That stings when you realize how far you have to get into story mode to actually unlock those fashions. There's no shortage of objects to decorate your house with, but most of them have the exact same functions (refrigerators, toilets, stoves, etc.) with no visible differences except different color schemes.

Gameplay: This is where the meat of the game is. For those of you who have played the original Sims (you know who you are), you know how insanely addictive the game is. As much fun as micromanaging a person's life is, though, it gets boring after about an hour or so. I was hoping they would remedy this, but you can't always depend on the sequel to improve on its predecessor. There's no shortage of interactions, whether it be talking to another Sim to cleaning the toilet. Really though, you can do everything there is to do in this game in about 9 hours.

Overall: The game was a decent addition to the series, but it wasn't what I would put under the "must-buy" category. If you really want to play the Sims, you might want this. Otherwise, don't make the same mistake I did. Buy the PC version instead.

I eventually ended up returning this version and tried the PC version. That was the version where they fixed everything I complained about in the original and made some additions. I haven't had a chance to play the expansions yet, but I doubt I'll need another Sims game until the 3rd game comes out.

THE END

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 01/19/07